The Complete Paddler: A Guidebook for Paddling the Missouri River from the Headwaters to St. Louis, Missouri [Paperback]

David L. Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2005

This comprehensive guide to paddling the Missouri River is invaluable to paddlers of all skill levels. Kayaker and map-maker David Miller spent three summers paddling the mighty Missouri from the headwaters in Montana to St. Louis and, from the seat of his sea kayak, mapped the entire route with the use of his GPS system. An experienced paddler, Miller offers up vital information for anyone seeking to float even the shortest stretch of the MissouriÂ’s storied waters. This guidebook offers excellent information on every stretch of the river, including river hazards, campgrounds, potable water, and attractions, as well as historic sites.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An excellent paddler and a knowledgeable and engaging writer, David Miller has crafted an exceptional guide book.
-Kimberly Hermes, Editor, Small Craft Advisory

Miller's love of this legendary stream permeates his guide. He clearly appreciates the beauty and grandeur of the river.
-James M. Peterson, professor emeritus, University of South Dakota

The Complete Paddler by David Miller is comprehensive, intelligent... you don't have to be a paddler to enjoy this book. ---Tom Mullen, author of Rivers of Change: Trailing the Waterways of Lewis & Clark

About the Author

Kayaker, map-maker and Chair of the Department of Geography at SUNY Cortland, David Miller spent three summers paddling the mighty Missouri from the headwaters in Montana to St. Louis and mapped the entire route with the use of his GPS system. An experienced paddler, he made his first long-distance wilderness canoe trip in 1968. In the spring of 2002, he began the first of three summers kayaking solo down the 2,321-mile-long Missouri River.

Articles on his expedition and the technology that he carried have appeared in Pocket PC Magazine, The Professional Surveyor, and The Small Craft Advisory. A member of the Discovery Expedition of St. Charles, he has served as a ‘forward scout’ for that organization’s re-enactment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s voyage up the Missouri River.

Professor Miller is a member of the National Association for Search and Rescue and a member of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. He has served as an equipment tester for Sierra Designs. In the years to come, he plans to be spending part of every summer on the Missouri, updating his new guide book, making new acquaintances and greeting old ones.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Farcountry Press (February 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560373253
• ISBN-13: 978-1560373254
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wrote the competing book--and this one is better!, August 28, 2006

By 

Keith Drury (Marion, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Paddler: A Guidebook for Paddling the Missouri River from the Headwaters to St. Louis, Missouri (Paperback)

I wrote the canoe guide to the Missouri after my trek down the river in 1999 and that book is still in print..BUT this one is better..if you only are buying one book get this one, not mine. It is a considerable improvement on my guidebook. If, however you actually intend to canoe the whole river, or a major part of it you might also want mine. Dave has done a great service to us all! Thanks Dave!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthusiastically recommended for kayakers with an interest in experiencing the great Missouri River for themselves, January 12, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Paddler: A Guidebook for Paddling the Missouri River from the Headwaters to St. Louis, Missouri (Paperback)

The Complete Paddler: A Guidebook for Paddling the Missouri River from the Headwaters to St. Louis, Missouri is a no-nonsense manual written for paddlers of all skill and experience levels with an interest in exploring the Missouri River. Chapters discuss necessary equipment, risks and hazards, shoreline descriptions, currents and prevailing winds, portages, river-mile marks, historical sites to be seen, and much more. The Complete Paddler also capitalizes on modern advancements by using Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to give accurate "sailing directions". Author David Miller also recounts his personal anecdotes of his three-summer-long, solo kayak expedition. Enthusiastically recommended for kayakers with an interest in experiencing the great Missouri River for themselves.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comments from a fellow river rat, July 3, 2006

By 

Wayne A. Willkomm - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Paddler: A Guidebook for Paddling the Missouri River from the Headwaters to St. Louis, Missouri (Paperback)

Having boated from the Beaverhead and Jefferson tributaries of the Missouri River and then all the way down past St. Louis in 2003 and 2004 at approximately the same time of year as David Miller did, I can verify that not only has David told it the way it was, his strategies for paddling the "Missou Lady" in the future, are as good as it gets.

When meeting in 2003, as the only guests at an out-of-the-way state campground in South Dakota, we exchanged notes and thoughts as considerate adventurers do.

In 2004, I knew through a mutual and now belated friend,that David was a week or so ahead of me, below the headwaters.We didn't meet, but later went over detail in a way that only two people sharing the same experience can do.

Of extreme importance to anyone considering a venture such as paddling the Missouri, are the threads in David's words of planning/scouting ahead, using local knowledge to revise/improve one's plan, and executing with discretion, a cool head, and a quick, sure hand.

His consistent emphasis on those things most important to a paddler is a crucial key for any would-be adventurer. I saw a great number of paddlers who would have benefited greatly from his sage advice and suffered the consequences of not having had it. The difference was that between a challenging, but enjoyable outing and a disaster.

The succinct and varied references to the Lewis and Clark expedition information data base will enrich the reader's experience greatly, if time is taken to skim them, at least, lightly before and then fully, during the trip.

Lastly, David's approach of safety considerations first and letting discretion, be the better part of valor, is right on target, since a lot of the time, only you are going to get yourself out of trouble when paddling the remote parts of the Missouri River.

Hat's off for a job well done, David.

Good Luck and Steady Winds,

Wayne A. Willkomm